Warrendale, PA (February 25, 2005) - Lloyd W. Rogers, Jr. (retired) of Delphi and General Motors Corporation (GM) h as been selected to receive the 2004 Edward N. Cole Award for Automotive Engineering Innovation. Rogers will be presented with the award at the April 11 dinner meeting of the SAE Detroit Section, which is being held in conjunction with the 2005 SAE World Congress at Cobo Center in Detroit .

This award, established in 1978, annually recognizes an SAE member whose innovative design is described in an SAE paper or whose lifetime of accomplishment is judged to be a significant achievement in automotive engineering. Judgment is based upon the value of the work as an original innovative contribution, not upon the application of some development or invention already known. The award honors the memory of Edward N. Cole, former President and Chief Operating Officer of GM, and the inspiration he provided to others in the engineering profession by his continuing search and drive for product innovation.

Rogers retired from Delphi/GM in 2003 after 42 years of service. During his career, he was one of the most creative and productive inventors in automotive history with close to 90 U.S. Patents. Some of those were of such high value to both GM and Delphi that they honored him with "Boss Kettering" Awards 4 times. In 2002, he was promoted to Principal Technical Fellow (Engineer) at Delphi , which is the company's highest technical level.

Rogers started as an intern with GM in 1961 at Fisher Body in Production Engineering, and was hired full-time in 1962 for the Ternstedt Division of GM in the New Product Development (NPD) Electro-Mechanical Group. His first project was to develop an electromechanical cincher for the new inward-folding convertible top. In 1966, Rogers received his first patent on an electrical door latch and was promoted to senior product engineer.

In 1969, Rogers went to Fisher Body's Product Research and Safety Group where he developed the electro-mechanical interlock module, the electronic specifications for an integrated circuit in an automotive environment and the first vehicle sensitive inertia retractor. These two items were installed on 5.25 million vehicles or all of GM's 1974 production. Of his numerous inventions, Rogers is most proud of the 1971 hood latch, which is still on 80% of all GM vehicles, the 1974 vehicle sensitive inertia seat belt retractor, and the 1993 U Van power sliding door system.

During the past 20 years, Rogers has mentored over 90 young engineers in teaching them the fundamentals of mechanical and electrical engineering. He holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Wayne State University .